Tuesday, July 19, 2011

The Biggest House In The World

The Istana Nurul Iman palace is the official residence of the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah. The palace is located on a leafy, riverside sprawl of hills on the banks of the Brunei River directly south of Brunei’s capital, Bandar Seri Begawan, no more than a few miles outside the city center. Its name is taken from Arabic, meaning Palace of the Light of Faith.

It is the largest residential palace in the world and the world’s largest residence of any type. It was designed by Leandro V. Locsin, and built.Taken from the Arabic name, means Palace of the Faith Light; is the largest residential palace in the world and the world’s largest residence of any type.

It contains 1,788 rooms, 257 bathrooms, and a floor area of 2,152,782 square feet (200,000 m²). Amenities include 5 swimming pools, and an air conditioned stable for the Sultan’s 200 polo ponies, a 110-car garage, a banquet hall that can be expanded to accommodate up to 4,000 guests, and a mosque accommodating 1,500 people.

The palace was built in 1984 at a cost of around $1.4 billion USD and has 564 chandeliers, 51,000 light bulbs, 44 stairwells, and 18 elevators. It is also a home to a car collection that includes custom-made Ferraris and Bentleys as well as 165 Rolls-Royces.
It was designed by the National Artist of the Philippines for Architecture, Leandro V. Locsin and built by the Filipino firm, Ayala International.
The Sultan’s palace is only open three days a year for the Islamic festival of Hari Raya Aidilfitri, marking the end of Ramadan.